Siouxland Celiac: Connecting with Community

Panoramic shot of the GF/AF Expo in Schaumburg, IL, April 22 & 23, 2017

I was just watching an episode from the first season of one of my favorite shows, "Switched At Birth". It's fun to be able to go back on Netflix and re-watch episodes of shows I like that are no longer on the air. This episode was the last one from season one. If you have never watched it, it is a drama from the channel now called Free Form. The first episode begins with two families learning that their 15 year old daughters, born the same day at the same hospital, had accidentally been switched at birth, hence the title. The show follows these two very different families as they struggle to deal with the life changing news and figure out the new family dynamics that they are now presented with. One of the two girls who was switched is deaf, the other hearing. In one of the last episodes of season one, Daphne, the deaf half of the duo, is playing on the basketball team for the school for the deaf that she attends. As she and her father are checking into the hotel, a young hearing impaired mother and her also deaf little girl meet Daphne and tell her that they drove from another state to cheer on the deaf girls team because they not only represent their school, but the entire hearing impaired community. This thrills and scares Daphne at the same time because she just realized that she is a role model for the hearing impaired community. As she explains this to her hearing father, she talks about how no matter where a deaf person travels, if they meet another deaf person, there is an instant connection. She tells him that the deaf community is a small, but tight knit community and that what a deaf person in the spotlight does reflects and influences others in the community.

Watching this episode again made me think of the Celiac and gluten free community that I became a part of with my diagnosis 3 1/2 years ago. The way Daphne spoke about the deaf community makes me think of how I feel about the community that I am a part of. We're a small, but tight knit community. When I meet someone else who has Celiac Disease or is gluten free for another health reason, I feel an instant connection with them. So often, it ends up with each of us sharing our Celiac stories with each other, though we are complete strangers. But you don't feel like you are strangers because you have this link with one another. Something that people outside of this community can't identify with or understand. You feel a deep kinship with that other person. Thinking about the Celiac/Gluten Free community made me think of the connections and friendships I have been blessed to form in this past year more than any other time since my diagnosis.

Mike & Brenda Orlando and their girls.

As I said before, it began in April, 2016 when I met Mike and Brenda Orlando who were in the process of starting the first gluten free/allergen friendly restaurant in Sioux City and their lovely family. I've had the privilege of being able to get to know them and some of their staff along the way as I quickly became a huge supporter of their business. And, yes, by huge supporter, I mean that I eat there - A LOT! I can't help it! The food is awesome and I know I can safely eat there without fear of cross-contamination. Through writing a review of their restaurant, Gud n Free, I then met Tina Messeck who had started a gluten free bakery in Jefferson, Iowa in 2015 called Better For You Bakery. Tina sent me her four mixes to try and review (loved them, as you can read for yourself on my blog) Tina, herself, is not gluten free, but she has a 100% dedicated facility and provides wonderful gluten free mixes and baked goods that are out of this world! I've become a part of the Siouxland Celiac Support Group, sponsored by the Sioux City Hamilton Blvd Hy Vee dietitian, Corrinna Lenort. I have met some wonderful people through this group, including Corrinna, the facilitator of the group, members of the group and Sara Gotch, the creative mind behind Gnarly Pepper seasoning mixes, which I also love and use (they are gluten free and vegan). I've met and have been getting to know Alafia and Marije Wright, the people behind the wonderful skin and hair care line called, God's Green Earth. I also finally got to meet Angela Tague, the voice behind the blog Cupcakes and Yoga Pants. There are so many people I've had the privilege to connect with through this journey that none of us asked to be on, yet, we are on it nonetheless - together. Yes, I regularly use the products provided by these entrepreneurial people, however, they have become a part of my world, not just their products or the services they provide, but the people behind these products and services. We're a community. We're in this together!